Puckering, bleeding through & how to hold the yarn

This is my first colorwork project. It is the Christmas stocking from Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines. The books provides a brief lesson on stranded colorwork using both hands, which I understand, but I don't know how to hold the rest of the yarn in my left hand to keep the tension right. I either try to hold it with my ring finger (like I do with my right when I normally knit, throwing) but I keep dropping it and it gets loose. Or I have been wrapping it between and around my fingers like when I crochet, but then it is too tight. I tried watching the video KP provided, but I couldn't see how they where holding, the rest of the yarn attached to the ball. What is the easiest way?
So now from my tension being all over the place it is puckering a little, I am using Wool of the Andes, so will blocking help?
And the red is showing between the white stitches, how can this be avoided? Is this just something that I should expect because I have a lighter color in front and a darker in back? But the picture in the book doesn't have this, so can this also be cured by blocking?
Sorry for all the questions and here is a picture so you can see what I am talking about.

0 members like this

Attachments:

IMG_0469.JPG, 4.2 MB

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by cherylbwaters on August 21, 2009 at 9:54pm

If your library has access to Lucy Neatby's DVDs on intarsia (Intarsia Untangled 1 & 2), please view them. She gives detailed information on what intarsia is and how to do it.

If you can't get copies from your library, let me know and I'll see if I can detail it for you.

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on August 22, 2009 at 6:56am

Archer: Just to add a little more info, everyone who uses the left hand to knit (Continental, picking, combination, etc.) has his/her own way to hold the yarn. Here's how it works best for me:

If I use thicker yarn, I reduce the wrapping. For worsted-weight yarn, I usually just have it go over my finger and down into the palm of my hand. That's because the yardage moves through faster with thicker yarn, and the thicker yarn is easier to hold onto with my palm.
Also, I have better luck with catching the yarn every other st, rather than having the floats go 3-5 sts, as most people do. Here's how the inside of my Sipalu bag looked before lining:

It's easy to catch the left-hand float by moving my left index finger to the front for one st and then to the back for the next. Catching the right-hand float is a little more difficult. I actually have to "throw" the yarn to the front, take the st with the left yarn, and then return the right-hand yarn to the back. With a little practice, it goes pretty fast. I find my floats are more even that way. Keep trying things, though. Eventually, you will find what works for you, and it will get easier.
Stranded color work improves a lot by blocking. I haven't had a problem with a dark color showing through from behind a light color. I suppose I am just used to how it looks and just view it as part of stranded colorwork. Maybe a photo of what you're talking about would help. Good luck! --Peggy

Permalink Reply by Dusti Gomery on August 22, 2009 at 12:57pm

Hi Archer, I just started learning colorwork too, and have found that if I stop and spread the stitches out on my right needle each time I have a color change I don't get the puckering so much. Also, because I knit both colors with the same hand; holding the main color the same as if I were knitting only a single color, and letting the second color "dangle"down the back, then picking it up with my thumb and forefinger as I need it, I find that I don't get the "show through" quite so much. I can use my right index finger to hold the yarn back out of the way when changing from the second color back to the main color. I wish I could show you how I do this, it's tough to understand in writing - lol. I hope you find what works for you though, once you do, you'll never want to knit a solid color sweater again!!

Permalink Reply by archercrafts on August 22, 2009 at 3:52pm

Thank you ladies for your help.
Cheryl: I am going to try to find the DVD's and watch them, if the library doesn't have them I might check on Netflix. Sounds like they would be great to watch even if I wasn't have problems.
Peggy: Thanks for the photos, these really helped. I was holding the yarn like this, but it is a worsted weight so that might have been why they were getting so tight. And I think that I am going to try your tip of catching the yarn every other stitch, because it seems like the stitch that is in front when I wait and catch them every 5 stitches is getting distorted and that is where the red is showing through. So maybe if I catch them more often the floats won't pull as bad. And by the way, your bag looks great, even inside-out.
Dusti:: I tried only holding 1 yarn at a time with my right hand and that did seem to help on the puckering. I was better able to control my tension since I normally knit with my right hand. If I just can't seem to get 2 handed knitting down, I think that this is the way I will go.
Thanks again ladies, and I will keep you updated on how it is coming along.

Permalink Reply by cherylbwaters on August 22, 2009 at 8:55pm

archercrafts, I should have directed you to this earlier. This is what Peggy means by catching the sts every other st.

Also if you want to purchase the Lucy Neatby DVDs, Knitting Software is having a 25% off sale through August 26. KP also sells them here. Because KP has been so good to its customers I usually try to favor them when I have a choice between 2 companies. If you take into consideration KP's free shipping for orders over $50, the price difference isn't that great.

RSS

Welcome to
Knitting Community

Sign Up
or Sign In